What’s Your Story

Last week was horrible. Our car was rear-ended by a truck. It wasn’t just any truck – but a big tanker full of airline fuel.

The truck rammed us from behind with such force that our car was pushed forward three-cars length. Our car only stopped when we also hit the car in front of us. The glass at the back of the car was fully shattered and the car rear was heavily dented. And to make it worse, it took almost 4 hours for all the police paperwork to be filled-out. Unnecessarily prolonging the incident.

Two days later, we still felt sore all over the body. Overall, a horrible experience.

A different story

I felt very grateful last week. Our car was rear-ended by a truck. It wasn’t just any truck – but a big tanker full of airline fuel. Imagine the worst-case scenario that could have happened with such dangerous cargo. We were lucky to just get rear-ended.

Good thing the truck pushed us directly forward. If we were pushed to the side, we would have ended up in a deep ditch on the right side, or in the oncoming traffic on the left side. Thanks to Japanese engineering, the glass shattered outwards so we didn’t have injuries. The back of the car absorbed most of the impact, sparing us from further injuries.

Within 10 minutes, help and authorities arrived. We were lucky that the accident happened in a place where there was adequate traffic personnel. After a couple days of bed rest, I felt back to normal again.

I feel grateful that the accident didn’t turn into something horrible.

The stories we tell ourselves

We have no control to what happens to us. But we have control over our interpretation of what happens to us.

Do we tell our stories as a victim? Do we tell our story with regret, disappointment, and sorrow?

Or do we tell our story with wonder, curiosity, and gratitude?

Whenever I have to choose what story to tell myself, I remember an Indian Parable that goes like this:

A wise, old Indian told his grandson, “There are two wolves inside your body. The white wolf is fighting so you can feel wonder, curiosity, and gratitude. While the black wolf is fighting so you will feel misery, disappointment, and sorrow. They fight all day – each one not giving up. Each one dedicated to winning.”